Alcest

Alcest will perform on 18 August 2026 at TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht. The project led by multi-instrumentalist Stéphane "Neige" Paut began in the early 2000s with an intimate black metal foundation and evolved into a blend of blackgaze, shoegaze and post‑rock. Since 2009 Neige has formed a permanent duo with drummer Winterhalter, which gives the band a distinct pulse and depth live. From Le Secret and Souvenirs d’un autre monde to Écailles de Lune their signature is clear: saturated guitars, dreamy melodies, clean vocals alongside distant screams, and passages that lean toward ambient. With Les Voyages de l’âme and Shelter Alcest moved closer to shoegaze, while on Kodama and Spiritual Instinct they sharpened darker contrasts again. The recent Les Chants de l’aurore (2024) deepens that balance between light and melancholy. On stage those tensions unfold in layers: slow build‑ups, eruptions of distortion and quiet breathing spaces in between, on the border between metal and alternative.